(Isaiah 56:6,7) “And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to serve him, to love the name of the LORD, and to worship him, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant- these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer.”

If you are anything like me you do not like to not be chosen. Whether it is for the kickball team at recess, for the basketball team at school, by that boy or girl you asked to the dance or for the job you applied for no one ever likes to be rejected, turned away or said “no” too. Yet, unfortunately it seems that all of us have been rejected, turned away or not chosen multiple times in our lives. Rejection is something that occurs for all of us throughout the course of our lives and it hurts every time it happens.

And people on this earth will always reject you, tell you that you are not good enough and turn you away but you can always know for sure that your God CHOOSES you! He tells us that no matter if you are a Jew – a part of the chosen people of Israel, or a “foreigner” – a Gentile (like most if not all of us!) we are chosen. Jesus has claimed us “foreigners” as his own. God has chosen us through his Son, Jesus as he says in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Jesus does not care what race, tribe, ethnicity or nation you are from because Jesus “wants all men to come to a knowledge of the truth and to be saved.” Because of Jesus you and I are CHOSEN! We are his adopted sons and daughters and we have been invited to his holy mountain (heaven) to enjoy all of his blessings!

And so no matter who has rejected you this week or recently know that your God will never reject you but instead he has chosen you first because of the faith he has given you in his Son Jesus Christ!